-LRB- CNN -RRB- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu coasted to victory in Tuesday 's elections , defying pre-election polls showing his Likud party trailing his main rival , the center-left Zionist Union . Ever the master politician and brilliant tactician , he used the politics of fear to galvanize his right-wing base , which ultimately secured him a fourth term . Israel , however , may not fare as well as its leader did at the polls .

In a matter of days , Netanyahu exposed his true attitude toward Israel 's conflict with the Palestinians , in the process threatening to further erode an already strained relationship with the White House . Less than two weeks ago , Netanyahu declared that his speech of June 2009 at Bar-Ilan University , where he publicly endorsed a demilitarized Palestinian state , is no longer relevant . On Monday , he continued on this theme , announcing that a Palestinian state would not be established under his watch .

These comments were tactical moves aimed at mobilizing his base , but so was his Bar-Ilan speech a maneuver aimed at appeasing U.S. President Barack Obama and quelling criticism from abroad . Ultimately , political expedience led Netanyahu to reveal what many critics had long suspected : He has never supported a two-state solution .

In the last six years of his premiership , Netanyahu has spoken out repeatedly against a withdrawal to the 1967 borders , with mutually agreed land swaps -- the basis for a two-state solution ; insisted that Palestinians recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people -- a condition no Palestinian leader can accept ; and presided over unprecedented settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem , which the Palestinians regard as their future capital .

Meanwhile , the Israeli Prime Minister has disparaged Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at every opportunity , asserting that he encourages terrorism -- a claim that was contradicted by the head of Israel 's top security service -- and repeating the mantra that Abbas is not a legitimate peace partner . In 2011 , he reportedly quashed the Palestinian leader 's draft peace agreement that had been secretly negotiated with former Israeli President Shimon Peres . In a less guarded moment , Netanyahu told Israeli writer Etgar Keret that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was `` insoluble . ''

Netanyahu 's duplicity on the Palestinian issue has led to a highly dysfunctional relationship with the Obama administration , which has tried , in vain , to broker an Israeli-Palestinian agreement . He made a farce of last year 's John Kerry-brokered peace talks by increasing settlement work fourfold during this negotiating period .

Adding fuel to the fire , Netanyahu has repeatedly injected himself into U.S. politics , most recently with his acceptance of an invitation by House Speaker John Boehner to address Congress -- a move that was widely seen as a partisan ploy to undercut the White House .

Obama has yet to respond to Netanyahu 's most recent statements , which can only serve to further damage Washington 's ties with Jerusalem while contributing to Israel 's growing isolation . One European government after another has begun to turn its back on the Israeli government , taking steps to recognize a Palestinian state since it appears less and less likely that one will emerge as a result of negotiations .

But criticism of Netanyahu 's approach to the Palestinian issue has also come from none other than the Israeli security community , many of whose members are alarmed at Israel 's deteriorating position in the international community in general and its schism with Washington in particular .

A broad array of former generals , ex-heads of Israel Defense Forces military intelligence , and former chiefs of the Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence services have long argued that the status quo is unsustainable and that a two-state solution is vital to Israel 's future as a Jewish and democratic state . In the last month , nearly 200 of these former high-ranking security officials launched a campaign demanding a change in leadership in light of what they view as Netanyahu 's failure to take any diplomatic initiative while harming one of Israel 's greatest security assets : its relationship with the United States .

Israelis did not heed the ex-security officials ' warnings when they voted to retain Netanyahu as their Prime Minister . But while Netanyahu 's come-from-behind victory may attest to his shrewd political instincts , it will also come with a high cost for his country .

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won re-election Tuesday

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Guy Ziv : Netanyahu has repeatedly injected himself into U.S. politics